Guidance for Students

This page lists some basic information and important advice for students interested in participating in Google Summer of Code 2016 program under our organization.

If you are reading this page, we assume you are basically aware about the GSoC FAQs and the program timelines listed here.. We also assume that you have satisfied yourself that you meet the eligibility criteria mentioned at the program help page. Please get your doubts about eligibility clarified from the Program Admins. We will not be able to assist you with answers to the queries.

##Project ideas We have a list of project ideas drafted on this page. With each project idea, we also have names of people who may likely mentor the project during GSoC. In addition to the ideas listed on the above page, we are open to receiving ideas from students trying to solve problems in mobile learning technologies. Especially we are looking forward to see innovative ideas for mobile applications in the Education category.

##Mentors As you may already know, mentors would be assigned to each student to guide you through the project and navigate through any hurdles that you may come across. We prefer that the students are to be self-driven and self-motivated. We expect you to be able to undertake independent research on your problems and make efforts to solve them as you communicate with the mentors.

##Communication We prefer to communicate using the BuildmLearn Google Group. You can join the group and introduce yourself, mention the project idea you are interested in and any questions that you may have regarding the project. While introducing yourself, it helps if you provide as much detail as you can - college / university, projects you’ve contributed to, links to code repositories, online profiles, etc. It would help us form a better idea of who you are and we may even be able to suggest you the right projects for you. Remember, a large part of GSoC relies on virtual communication - the better we form those bonds, the easier it is to relate to each other. Our mentors will actively respond to any queries that you may have about the project ideas in the Google group. Before posting any queries, check the group if similar questions have been asked earlier; chances are that someone has already asked what you want.

Please use a meaningful subject when writing to the list. It is tempting to use “GSoC 2016” or, “Suggestions for project”, etc. please refrain from doing this. If you can write out the idea topic in the subject it would be easier for a mentor to quickly respond to your email. For example, 'mConference Framework' is a good subject.

Please be patient after emailing in the group, it may take us some time to get back to you. We are receiving a lot of emails from students and trying to reply as soon as we can. It would help if you can check the group if similar questions have been asked earlier; chances are that someone has already asked what you want.

##Self Help Though we encourage students asking questions about the ideas and get clarity, we prefer you do not ask questions that have already been asked and answered in the mailing list. Please check the existing questions before asking your own, it is very likely that someone has already asked the same question. We prefer students who are self driven right from the start.

What should I start with?

If you read the ideas page in detail - we have a 'Where should I start' section for each of the project ideas. So if you merely send an email saying "I am interested in XYZ project. Where should I start?" we will simply ask you to follow the instructions on the ideas page. So kindly refrain from asking questions that have already been answered on the ideas page. It would be best if you could ask follow-up details about the project of your interest, in addition to whatever is provided on the ideas page. The mentors would really like to have these discussions with you on the mailing list. Again, please do browse the earlier email threads about your project, your questions may have already been asked and answered.

##Project Proposal In addition to your communication in the group and past contributions, a project proposal is what you will be judged upon. It is easier if you start the communication in the group early - ask questions, iterate and revise your proposal and ask for review. This would help ensure that you spend less time on review and iterations when the student proposal submission dates open.

Try to write a clear proposal on what you plan to do, what your project is and what it is not, etc. We do not have a strict format for project proposals, but if you are applying to our organisation, below are the parameters we would like to know:

• A Brief intro about who you are, what you are studying and where are you located.
• Your contact information - include email address, IM details and a contact number in case we need to contact you urgently.
• Projects that you have worked in the past - links to them. Links are important, specially for apps published somewhere.
• What is your project idea? Describe it in detail (either from the [ideas page](Google Summer of Code 2016 Ideas) or come up with your own)
• What is going to be your approach for developing this idea? How will you start and proceed? Mention what modules, APIs, libraries, etc. you would use and justify.
• Why are you the right person for this task? Have you worked with us before?
• How many hours are you going to work on this a week?
• Do you have other commitments that we should know about? If so, please suggest a way to compensate if it will take much time away from Summer of Code.
• Are you comfortable working independently under a supervisor or mentor who is just available virtually?
• Are you submitting proposals for any other organisations except us? If yes, which orgs have you applied for?
• Have you participated in any previous GSoC programs? If yes, tell us about your experience briefly and if you completed successfully.
• What is your primary motivation to submit a proposal for this project? Are you interested because you get a stipend as a part of GSoC or would you be interested to develop this project for us even outside GSoC?
• Anything else that is relevant and you wish to mention.

We will prefer that students provide daily updates once they start off. This will continue till “pencils down”. Selected students are expected to maintain a blog that is regularly updated.

We would also prefer that project proposals have milestones wherein students would show-off work done - using tools like G+, Google Hangouts, etc.

Familiarity with Git/Github workflows would be good to have.

If you wish - you can request for a review of the draft proposal before submitting to Google. This is only if you are ready with your proposal early enough.

##Where should I submit the proposal? You would be able to submit the proposal on the GSoC website starting 15th March 2016. Please do not email us your proposals, you need to submit them to google.